


Trust

by JealousMaude



Category: Prospect (2018)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:48:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23585638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JealousMaude/pseuds/JealousMaude
Summary: While Ezra rests after his amputation, Cee considers the events that brought her here, and makes some decisions about the future.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 65





	Trust

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little one-shot missing scene I wrote to fit between my two favourite scenes in the film - the amputation scene and the following one, where they walk through the forest and Cee shares a bit more with Ezra. I felt like Ezra might need a bit of time to recover after the trauma of amputation without sedation, and I wondered what Cee might think about while he rests.
> 
> Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Cee completed dressing Ezra’s shoulder as best she could. There wasn’t much in the way of bandages in the tent; the field kit having already been raided by others, so she made do with some rags that were clean enough. Hopefully that and the cream would keep the wound clean for long enough for them to get real medical help back on the freighter. 

“How do you feel?” she asked him.

“Never better,” he replied with a raised eyebrow.

“Sorry.”

Ezra shook his head and chuckled wryly. “Preferable to the alternative.”

That was certainly true. Dying slowly out here in the Green from a painful infection was not a desirable option. However, if they didn’t get back on the hunt for the Queen’s Lair, they would likely be facing a similar demise. Cee looked him over. His breathing was still ragged, his pallid skin was covered in a sheen of sweat and he looked exhausted. He swayed slightly where he sat.

“Do you think you can stand?” she asked.

He braced himself with his left arm on the crate he sat on and tried to push himself to stand. He made it halfway up before he slumped back down heavily, grimacing in pain.

“I may need to rest a beat.”

Cee sucked a sharp breath in, bit her lip, and gripped the timer in her pocket. She hadn’t looked at it since arriving at the tent but she knew it was well into the red. They didn’t have a lot of time. But Ezra would likely move better after a rest, rather than staggering through the thick forest in his current state. Either way, they would be struggling to make the deadline for the slingback, and they still had to harvest. He slid off the crate and sunk onto the floor. Cee helped him over to one of the bunks, and found some old blankets which she bundled up and placed under his head as a makeshift pillow. He adjusted his head and got as comfortable as was possible under the circumstances. He looked at Cee and held up his hand, “Just a momentary respite. Wake me before too long”. His hand dropped to his chest and he closed his eyes. 

Cee watched for a short time as his breathing evened out and each breath got deeper. She hadn’t had the chance to really look at his features until now. The helmet made it hard to see his face clearly, and besides, it hadn’t been a high priority when it had been off before. He looked rather sweet and innocent sleeping softly, hardly the vengeful murderer she knew him to be. There was a fine, curved scar on his left cheek, a souvenir from a brawl she figured. She was sure he’d been in a few of those, if he hadn’t used his powers of persuasion to avoid a physical confrontation. It probably wasn’t his only scar. Certainly not now. She cast her eye over his shoulder stump and felt a pang of guilt, which she swiftly pushed away. Feeling guilty over the series of events that brought them to this point wasn’t going to help get them off the toxic planet. She could figure out all those feelings when they were safely back on the freighter.

Possibly the most unusual aspect of Ezra’s appearance was the small, blonde tuft of hair sprouting from the right side of his widow's peak. It was an odd fashion choice, if indeed it was a choice. It could be the result of an accident, or birth defect. Either way it stood out and gave him a distinctive look she was sure he used to his advantage when he needed to. She made a mental note to ask him about both the scar and the hair when they finally made it off this planet. If they made it off. 

She needed to busy herself while Ezra slept. He’d only need a little longer then they could finally make their way to meet the mercs. They would need fresh filters if they were to make it so she decided to look for some. There had to be some in this tent. It had clearly belonged to some prospectors, trying their hand at striking it rich. There was an odd collection of trinkets, books and belongings scattered around the tent, as well as the ubiquitous photo of Him. It was a decree made by Central that His photo be displayed in all living quarters. Their drop pod had one of course, though Cee tried not to pay much attention to it. She found Him unsettling. The previous occupants of this tent had gone a little further and appeared to have set up a small shrine with lights around the photo. Not that she could imagine anyone out here enforcing the law. She hadn’t seen the photo in the Sater’s hut for starters, though she hadn’t been paying attention to much other than how to get out of there as fast as possible.

She felt another pang of guilt thinking about it again. If Ezra truly hadn’t been going to hand her over to them for all those gems and she hadn’t run, perhaps they could have both gotten away, and saved his arm in the process. Or perhaps the Sater would have held them both captive and they would be trapped there forever in their eerie hideout. She would never know now, and feeling guilty was pointless. She did what she’d needed to do to survive at the time and besides, Ezra was big enough to look after himself - she glanced over at his sleeping form, and at his bandaged shoulder - sort of.

In any case, Ezra hadn’t appeared to have blamed her. He’d genuinely wanted help when he was attempting to contact someone, anyone, on the comms. He’d been desperate. Dying. So desperate that even after disarming her on her arrival in the tent, he’d returned the thrower to her, leaving the power in her hands. Giving her the option of how to proceed. She could have killed him then and there. Or refused to help and left him to die. His life was literally in her hands and he trusted her to help him, but ultimately left it up to her. She had looked into his eyes when she’d asked him if he was going to give her to them, and he had looked into hers. Desperate and injured though he was, hadn’t been lying just to get her to help him. So Cee had chosen to help him. They needed each other if they were to get off the Green, and to do that, they needed to trust each other. So trust him she did. He’d trusted her enough to save his life, so it was time she trusted him to do the same for her.

She returned to her task: looking for filter refreshers. There had to be some in here. There were enough food supplements in the cases, there must be a case with some clean filters in it. She went through all the cases and boxes and any other place she thought may contain them and managed to only find one. She elected to replace her own and keep Ezra connected to hers, as they had done so far. Ezra would probably insist on her having it anyway. She had initially assumed his effusive manner was all part of some grand manipulation tactic, that through talking enough he could get whatever he wanted from her, but she was beginning to realise that maybe Ezra had been genuinely trying to connect with her while they’d made their way through the forest. He’d told her stories, asked her name and had never once attempted to harm her, only ever relieving her of her weapons if he needed to. And she still hadn’t told him her name.

She checked the timer. Less than a cycle to go. It was time to wake him. She knelt down by the bunk and considered the best way to do it. She didn’t want to surprise or alarm him, but she didn’t have time to gently bring him round.

“Hey,” she said softly. He didn’t rouse. “Hey!” she repeated louder. Still nothing. She gave his good shoulder a quick shake, “Ezra, wake up.” He awoke with a start, gasped violently and thrust his arm towards her. She flinched involuntarily, but he only grabbed hold of the support pole of the bunk, his eyes wild for a moment before he fully returned to consciousness. He blinked a couple times as his eyes regained their focus, then he turned to look at her. 

“Little bird…” he croaked, and she smiled at him. “Time to go?”

“Time to go” she confirmed, nodding her head.

He groaned and awkwardly clambered out of the bunk. Cee held out her hand for him and he took it gratefully, hauling himself to his feet with a grunt. 

“How are you feeling now?” She asked.

He held out his left arm and looked himself over, assessing his body. He was leaning slightly towards his left.

“Somewhat askew. But I will acclimatise.” He replied with a small smile.

Cee returned his smile with one of her own. She walked back to the small table, unwrapped one of the food bars and handed it to him. “Here. You should eat something. For strength.” He took it from her and smiled in appreciation of her kindness, before nibbling a corner of it. She turned back to the table and started gathering some bars and other supplies to pack in her bag, along with her book and music player. They would hopefully not need much in the way of provisions since the plan was to be back on the freighter before… well, before they missed their only chance to make it off this planet and would need to survive much longer. With that in mind, she hurriedly pulled on her suit and got herself ready to leave the tent. She turned to see Ezra pitifully attempting to get his suit on one-handed. He managed to get one foot in, but couldn’t get the bulky old suit in the right position to get his other foot in. Cee hesitated, not sure if he would want help with a task he could, up until now, perform with unthinking ease. Ezra growled and cursed under his breath, tossing the suit in a heap at his feet in frustration. Without overthinking it further, Cee moved to help him. He wordlessly accepted as she knelt beside him and held the suit open for him to step into while he steadied himself with a hand on her shoulder. They got the rest of the suit on together, Ezra helping where he could with the zips and buttons. When he was comfortably suited up, Cee noted the sadly sagging right sleeve and held it up. “Hm” she said, and looked around to quickly find a length of torn fabric. She carefully folded the sleeve over on itself, making sure it was tight enough that dust wouldn’t penetrate it and then secured it with the fabric. “There, that should do it.”

“An ingenious solution.”

Working together, they packed Ezra’s own backpack of supplies before getting his helmet on. As she secured her own helmet she realised she would need to explain the filter situation. She felt a shameful blush creep onto her cheeks and she held up the connection tubing.

“I uh, could only find one fresh filter…” She avoided his gaze.

“And you refreshed your own, I assume?”

She nodded, still feeling slightly embarrassed she’d taken it without discussion.

“Very sensible. Hook me up!” He held out his filter case so she could connect them once again. “You have the thrower?”

Cee patted the pocket on the side of her suit to indicate where it was and nodded. She wouldn’t need to have it at the ready while walking with Ezra. She’d realised that not only did she trust him, but she also felt safe with him. Safer than she had in a while. She knew he wouldn’t attack her, or leave her, or let her come to harm, so the thrower was likely not needed again until they found the mercs. And even then, it was more likely that Ezra would talk them out of trouble. So it was safely stashed and all she held now was the map. 

Ezra drew a deep, bracing breath and turned off the tent’s filter before unzipping the entrance.

“Well then. Let’s get you off this godforsaken rock.” He held open the tent flap for her. “Lead the way, little bird.”

She ducked her head through the flap and stepped back out into the toxic forest. Ezra followed behind her, squinting in the light, and for the first time in a long time, she felt hopeful that together, they could make it out of there.


End file.
